Sighted People Interference

A social barrier experienced by blind and visually impaired people when sighted individuals's reactions, interventions, or presence impede their independent activities in public spaces. This can include unsolicited help, judgmental reactions from store staff or other shoppers, physical proximity concerns (accidentally bumping into people), and the social pressure of navigating around others without visual cues. Research on recreational shopping found that sighted people interference was a significant deterrent to independent window shopping for blind people, who worried about being perceived as rude or causing offence. Understanding this barrier is important for designing assistive technologies that account for social context, not just functional navigation.